The Feel of the Water

When I'm feeling good, I can feel the water on my fingertips. It feels easy to be smooth and efficient and there is no sensation of fighting for speed.

I remember not thinking about anything during my best swims ever. Everything just clicked and I knew I was going as fast as I ever had. Swimming just felt effortless. My stroke was "perfect" and I just went with it. Getting out I remember not hurting at all, not being out of breath- awesome. I was on such a high. However, once I got in the warm down pool, I started breathing a little heavier :) Sorry, no out of body experiences or anything! I do notice that before some of my better swims, I tend to yawn behind the blocks.

I remember not thinking about anything during my best swims ever. Everything just clicked and I knew I was going as fast as I ever had. Swimming just felt effortless. My stroke was "perfect" and I just went with it. Sounds sort of like "runner's high". I haven't felt that in years and years, and haven't ever felt that while swimming. Someday perhaps... Skip Montanaro

Wow ! Thank you for the encouragement. The thought of doing anything near like the 12K in two workouts when I was at my best is not something I want to do. While feeling great in the water is wonderful to me it's not worth that much. I don't want to give it up though so I am doing stuff like working with weights and yoga, running stuff that lots of top swimmers today have incorporated. No one has answered my question though. What does it feel like when it feels great ? How would you describe the sensations ? Do you feel like you are cruising through the water, floating, ect. For me I loved the feeling of feeling disembodied, like I could daydream away a 1000. Of course when it got too painful to do that I was there in my bosy with the pain. Anyone experience something similar or something different ? Thank you for the responses Mary

That 'feel' is not unique to swimming. When a person does a lot of excercise for a couple of years with the right technique, that 'feel' comes at a stage. I think it is sort of a gift of God to the person for the sake of the efforts and devotion for something. I have some friends did some serious basketball, voleyball, rowing, etc. at their youth and they all talk about that 'feel'. I am not lucky enough to do any kind of sport seriously at those years and I do not understand what kind of a feel it is.:cry:

Is there a quick fix that anyone knows ? Mary W Good luck finding that "quick fix." In swimming, and probably other sports, getting out of a slump or a lull doesn't happen in a day, or even a week sometimes. You just have to mentally work hard at swimming through the sludge. One day, you'll come out of it and feel like you're a teenager again.

The long forgotten feelings. I can almost remember every stroke, fast or slow. I remember banging my hands into the water until I found a better way of doing it. Now I get in the water and no matter how fast I swim it all seems the same. Smooth and splashless.

Here is some first-hand experience: I swam from when I was eight all the way thru college. My last meet was in the summer of 1986. As a grad student I splashed around a bit, but no serious training since then. In May 2007 I got back in the water - really for the first time in over 20 years - prompted by the encouragement of a former agr-group teammate, and stimulated by the (premature) death in April of my freshman-year college roommate, who was also a swimmer. The first few weeks back in the pool were brutal. Though it was a long time ago, I have very, very vivid memories of 20,000+ meters/day double workouts in college, of being too tired to go to class and just sleeping in the locker room, and of feeling as though I was in the best shape of my life. So being barely able to swim more than a few hundred yards continuously before my lat's and triceps gave out was shocking. :drown: But I have stuck with it, and I have even swam a couple of meets over the past few weeks. I am now at the point where "feel for the water" is coming back, and where it actually feels GOOD to do a long pull set, or to swim a lactate set. I have set some ambitious goals for myself for the next couple of years.:wiggle: So, my own sense is that the Zen feeling will come back, if you stick with it long enough, and are willing to really train to get (approximately) back to the level of fitness you once had. There is a swim club in Holland whose name/motto is "Luctor et Emergo" - I struggle and emerge. I think that says it all...

Ah yes. This topic is close to my heart. I spent the better part of my 5 masters swimming years (after a 12 year break) searching desperately for the feel of the water that I had as a kid. There were a couple of years where I was doing a lot of :frustrated: in searching for something that wasn't exactly tangible. "But my 200 fly never felt that bad!?" As a kid, I felt as if I was part of the water. Effortless. Light. Smooth. Zen-like. Yes. Felt I could swim in my sleep. When I started back swimming after the 12 year break, I was in for a rude awakening. Felt like :drown: and then :cane: Was like this for quite a while. You know when you are searching like a mad women for something and it's under your nose the whole time? Or have you seen your friends search desperately for a significant other only to come across their dream match when they stop looking so hard? As an adult I believe I've found my "zen-like" or qi state but it's quite different from when I was younger. As an adult, I appreciate it more and I feel more focused and alive (I recognize the state) than ever before. Took patience, practice, and a focus that centered more on the pure feel and pleasure of the water rather than reaching specific goals or times. Wiping my conscience clean (turning mind into a blank slate) and eliminating all negative thoughts so to speak was helpful as well. Adopted the mentality of nothing is impossible and everything is possible. Want to pretend I'm Kate Zigler at practice for a day? Why not?! Being satisfied at first when that zen state appeared for just one or two strokes. Patience. With each passing week or so, that state would increase. Stopped looking so hard for it. Recognizing that as a kid it wasn't 100% "go with the flow" all the time. Realized that if you can push through the pain at times during a set, that that state will suddenly appear. No quick fix. But when I changed my way of thinking and attitude while being satisfied with smaller accomplishments (yea! I can breathe every 3 easily), I found what I was looking for a whole lot quicker. The bonus is, once you find that feeling, the speed is right there with it. Often it pops up when you least expect it. :2cents:

Like swimming down hill. Almost like body surfing.....very rare, but I do feel it once and a while and I savor it.